Crum continues momentum at Wyoming's pro day
Mar. 21—LARAMIE — At 6-foot-8 and roughly 315 pounds, Frank Crum doesn't have an easily concealable figure.
The Laramie High graduate grew exponentially over his six-year career on the University of Wyoming's offensive line. Despite the late growth spurt, Crum was still a lengthy kid when roaming the hallways as a Plainsman.
Crum remembers putting his elusiveness to the test during UW's pro day in 2018, when he was still in high school. The Indoor Practice Facility was riddled with NFL scouts and national media as quarterback Josh Allen put his rocket right arm on display on national TV.
"I kind of had to sneak in here, because they made it kind of like semi-private," Crum said during Tuesday's pro day. "I tried to get in, and I ended up getting kicked out pretty quick. We played hooky, I'm pretty sure, that day."
Six years later, Crum was one of the reasons 26 out of 32 NFL teams sent representatives to UW's pro day. After a impressive trip to the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this month, Crum followed it up with another strong performance Tuesday inside the IPF.
One of Crum's biggest improvements came in the bench press. Roughly three weeks after doing 22 repetitions of 225 pounds at the combine, Crum did 27 reps at UW's pro day.
Crum's otherwise strong performance at the combine allowed him to sit on most of his scores and not retest during pro day. That included the 40-yard dash, an event Crum tied for second among offensive linemen in the combine at 4.94 seconds.
"I'm a competitor at heart, so I obviously want to participate with the guys that I played with. I want to be a part of it, for sure," Crum said. "It was the underwear Olympics out there (at the combine) running the 40 and all that jazz, so I didn't really need to retest that. They were good numbers.
"You run a risk of pulling a (hamstring), and that would just be not smart for me to do. But to come out here and do the drills and then bench again, I really enjoyed it, and I think it helped me, for sure."
Crum didn't just make headlines in Indianapolis for his downfield speed. During an interview with the NFL Network, Crum was asked about his golden hair that curls down past his shoulders. His hair — and his performance — earned him plenty of love on social media during the combine.
"I don't know if I like (the recent fame), but any spotlight that I can put on Wyoming, I'll do that, for sure," Crum said. "I think it's funny my hair has been gaining some traction. There's been some doubters. It is real. The curls are natural. This isn't permed or anything. It is blonde naturally."
Texas defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat — who's projected as a day two draft prospect — told media at the combine UW had the toughest offensive line the Longhorns faced all season. Texas qualified for the College Football Playoff and played a schedule that included Alabama, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Washington.
"It was really good for Sweat to acknowledge us that we were the toughest O-line that he went against, because they did go up against a ton, and they were a top-four team in the country at the end there," Crum said. "It's a testament to (offensive line coach Joe) Tripodi and (former offensive coordinator Tim Polasek) and (former head coach Craig) Bohl at the time.
"It's a hard-nosed program. Attrition runs. We're going to wear you down all game, and that was kind of the MO. It meant a lot that a guy like him would say that."
While the Cowboys ended up falling to Texas in front of more than 100,000 fans in Austin, the loss served a positive purpose for Crum later on. Crum's game film against the Longhorns and Texas Tech has helped him show scouts his ability to hold his own against Power 5 opponents in the trenches.
"The first film that's pulled up with any team with me is either Texas or Texas Tech," Crum said. "Those are money games for me. They want to see how I can do against some of the best competition.
"I treated those games very seriously, just like all of them, but I knew the gravity that they held coming into last season. I tried to help myself by putting good tape together in those games."
Crum doesn't have any huge plans for the next month leading up to the draft. He wants to keep his head down and maintain his strength and conditioning routine until the NFL draft starts April 25 in Detroit.
For Crum, he's still not tipping his hand on if he's been given any clear-cut draft projections from teams.
"Too early to tell," Crum said with a smile. "It is too early to tell on that, but I'll be watching the TV just like everybody else, hoping to hear my name called."
Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @alex_m_taylor22.
